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Roger de Montgomerie, also known as
Roger the Great de Montgomery (died 1094), was the
first Earl
of Shrewsbury. His father was also Roger de Montgomerie, and
was a relative, probably a grandnephew, of the Duchess Gunnor, wife
of Duke Richard I of
Normandy. The elder Roger had large holdings in central Normandy, chiefly in the
valley of the Dives, which the younger Roger
inherited.

Life

Roger was one of William the
Conqueror's principal counsellors. He did not fight in the
initial invasion of England in 1066, instead staying behind to help
govern Normandy [Some controversy here- Neil Ludlow (Pembroke
Castle) states the Earl led the Norman right flank at the Battle of
Hastings]. Afterwards he was entrusted with land in two places
critical for the defense of England, receiving the rape of Arundel at the end of 1067 (or in early 1068),
and in November 1071 he was created Earl of Shrewsbury; a few historians
believe that while he received the Shropshire territories in 1071
he was not created Earl until a few years later.

After William I's death in 1087, Roger joined with other rebels
to overthrow the newly crowned King William
II in the Rebellion of 1088. However, William
was able to convince Roger to abandon the rebellion and side with
him. This worked out favourably for Roger, as the rebels were
beaten and lost their land holdings in England.

Roger first married Mabel of Bellême, who was heiress to a large
territory on both sides of the border between Normandy and Maine. By her
he had 10 children:

Roger then married Adelaide de Le Puiset, by whom he had one son, Everard,
who entered the Church.

After his death, Roger's estates were divided. The eldest
surviving son, Robert, received the bulk of the Norman estates (as
well as his mother's estates); the next son, Hugh, received the
bulk of the English estates and the Earldom of Shrewsbury. After Hugh's
death the elder son Robert inherited the earldom.

On screen, Roger was portrayed by actor John Greenwood in the
two-part BBC TV play
Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625.

References

J.F.A. Mason, "Roger de Montgomery and His Sons (1067–1102)",
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th series
vol. 13 (1963) 1-28

Kathleen Thompson, "The Norman Aristocracy before 1066: the
Example of the Montgomerys", Historical Research 60 (1987)
251-263

Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to
America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis Lines: 124-26,
185-1